The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African
Commission), at its 51st Ordinary Session held from 18 April to 2
May 2012 in Banjul, The Gambia;

Considering its mandate to promote human and peoples’ rights in Africa under the
African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African Charter);

Recalling Articles 20, 21 and 24 of the
African Charter as elaborated by the 2011 Tunis Reporting Guidelines and the
2010 Nairobi Implementation Guidelines on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
particularly in protecting the rights of peoples to pursue their social and
economic development in terms of policies they have freely chosen; to freely
dispose of their natural resources in the exclusive interest of the people; and
to generally satisfactory environment;

Noting the interdependence between human rights and
development;

Recalling Principle 2 of the 1992 Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development establishing
State sovereignty over natural resources, read with Principle 1 providing that “human beings are at the centre of concerns
for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life
in harmony with nature” and Principle 22 providing that “local communities have a vital role in environmental management and
development and, as a result, their identity, culture and interests must be
protected”;

Noting that there has
recently been rapid progress in the definition of minimum international
standards with respect to natural resources required to maintain life itself,
in particular the recent recognition of the human right to food and the human
right to water and sanitation;

Mindful of the
disproportionate impact of human rights abuses upon the rural communities in
Africa that continue to struggle to assert their customary rights of access and
control of various resources, including land, minerals, forestry and fishing;

Calls upon States Parties to:

Reaffirm
that, in accordance with the Rio Declaration and African Charter principle
of State sovereignty over natural resources, the State has the main responsibility for
ensuring natural resources stewardship with,
and for the interest of, the
population and must fulfill its mission in conformity with international
human rights law and standards;

Confirm
that all necessary measures must be taken by the State to ensure
participation, including the free, prior and informed consent of
communities, in decision making related to natural resources governance;

Recommit themselves to vigorously
fighting corruption at all levels of decision making by strengthening and
enforcing criminalization of corruption, decisively ending impunity and
ensuring asset recovery and repatriation for illicitly expatriated
capital;

Ensure that respect for human rights in all matters of
natural resources exploration, extraction, toxic waste management,
development, management and governance, in international cooperation,
investment agreements and trade regulation prevails, and in particular:

1 Establish a clear legal framework for sustainable
development as it impacts on natural resources, in particular water, that would
make the realization of human rights a prerequisite for sustainability;

2 Strengthen regional efforts, such as the 2009 ECOWAS
Directive on Mining and the African Commission’s Working Group on Extractive
Industries and Human Rights, to promote natural resources legislation that
respect human rights of all and require transparent, maximum and effective
community participation in a) decision-making about, b) prioritisation and
scale of, and c) benefits from any development on their land or other
resources. or that affects them in any substantial way;

3 Set up independent monitoring and accountability
mechanisms that ensure that human rights are justiciable and extractive
industries and investors legally accountable in the country hosting their
activities and in the country of legal domicile;

4 Ensure independent social and human rights impact
assessments that guarantee free prior informed consent; effective
remedies; fair compensation; women,
indigenous and customary people’s rights; environmental impact
assessments; impact on community
existence including livelihoods, local governance structures and culture, and
ensuring public participation; protection of the
individuals in the informal sector; and economic, cultural and social rights.